relocating a Cleaver Brooks boiler.....on a hot day

[maxster]

somebody jumped or capped something with this boiler running for an ABS yesterday over in Jersey,and is going to have a career change coming up.http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6452/passaiccoolnr5.jpg

[Noel Murdough]

I saw another angle picture of it. The back oven door is swinging partly open on it's davits.

I wonder what part let go. Perhaps a tube blew out???

If I ever see a B.L.E.V.E. (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion), I want to be far away from it...

Noel

[technut]

Too bad they would'nt put a little more money in it.Lots of cheap a h's that wont, up keep their equipment.

[no8no3]

I helped replace one like this with similar damage in Chicago years ago....It was a delayed ignition....like 3 minutes. I did not know then that three minutes worth of gas at 75 inches of pressure could do that much damage. The boiler, another CB, had so much damage to the vessel itself, it had to be scraped. They never could place blame on the maint. staff, as they were all killed in the blast.

Bad day.

[technut]

Man, that was just a sad thing to happen,but it does.

[snipe70e]

Originally posted by Noel Murdough
I saw another angle picture of it. The back oven door is swinging partly open on it's davits.

I wonder what part let go. Perhaps a tube blew out???

If I ever see a B.L.E.V.E. (boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion), I want to be far away from it...

Noel

Just a guess probly low water caused the crown sheet to let go. When that happens it is like a balloon when you let it go. looks like they got away without a lot of damage. Normally when that happens the gas line breaks and then then you get a secondary explosion and ffire.

[snipe70e]

Originally posted by technut
Too bad they would'nt put a little more money in it.Lots of cheap a h's that wont, up keep their equipment.

You are right on that. Inorder for a boiler to fail and explode there has to be at least two failures, and normally it is on the order of six to ten.

I wonder what presure it was operating at?

[technut]

cut-outs failures and something else my 2 cents.

[maxster]

that time of the day the A team was on site,and readings on both the boiler and ABS must of been routine...audible alarms...computer read outs something will come out by weeks end

[core]

Originally posted by no8no3
I helped replace one like this with similar damage in Chicago years ago....It was a delayed ignition....like 3 minutes. I did not know then that three minutes worth of gas at 75 inches of pressure could do that much damage.

Bad day.

Boilers don’t explode from delayed ignition, the most that will happen is that the flue pipe will get blown off the vessel and a loud rumble will be heard.

Gas in a boiler gets vented out through the flue by draft or combustion fan. Not enough pressure could be built inside a vessel to cause it to rupture.

On the other hand when water is pressurized and then subjected to a drop in pressure (atmospheric pressure) it boils off fast and expands at an incredible rate. This expansion creates enough internal pressure to blow anything apart and is the main cause of boiler explosions.

The boiler pictured above must have been exposed to a massive drop in pressure which caused all the water at high pressure high temperature to boil off simultaneously.

[core]

My guess is that the top “Man Hole” blew out while operating causing a massive pressure drop.

Core

[Randy S.]

I hope it wasn't somebody jumping the low water cut
out because they couldn't keep enough water in it.

I actually found that once on a Clever Crooks boiler in an industrial plant.

[maxster]

make that 2:45 AM the explosion happened so must of been a light crew if any.

[no8no3]

Originally posted by core

Originally posted by no8no3
I helped replace one like this with similar damage in Chicago years ago....It was a delayed ignition....like 3 minutes. I did not know then that three minutes worth of gas at 75 inches of pressure could do that much damage.

Bad day.

Boilers don’t explode from delayed ignition, the most that will happen is that the flue pipe will get blown off the vessel and a loud rumble will be heard.

Gas in a boiler gets vented out through the flue by draft or combustion fan. Not enough pressure could be built inside a vessel to cause it to rupture.

On the other hand when water is pressurized and then subjected to a drop in pressure (atmospheric pressure) it boils off fast and expands at an incredible rate. This expansion creates enough internal pressure to blow anything apart and is the main cause of boiler explosions.

The boiler pictured above must have been exposed to a massive drop in pressure which caused all the water at high pressure high temperature to boil off simultaneously.




Whatever....I'm just telling ya'll what the Hartford people said. If this had been the only boiler i had ever seen that was damaged by delayed ignition I'd probobly agree. But it wasn't. I guess we need to do away with flame safety's, redundant valves and ultraviolet peepers, they must be useless....Right?

[snipe70e]

Originally posted by core
My guess is that the top “Man Hole” blew out while operating causing a massive pressure drop.

Core


under pressure the strong backs on the man hole can be removed and it will not will not drop. For it to blow out would take extream over pressure, or corission of the area around the man hole. Also if the man hole failed the reaction force would be down not out.

[snipe70e]

The boiler looks to be a triple pass Scotch Marine Boiler. An Extreme gas explosion could rupture the furnace. I doubt that is what happened, Look at the front it is still intact, that strong of an explosion would have blown the front door off

Most probable cause I bet was low water.

The A team would not be on watch at the middle of the night. If it was a low pressure boiler (15# or less in CA) it could have been unattended. It is scary what some people will do with a boiler.

[snipe70e]

Originally posted by core

Originally posted by no8no3
I helped replace one like this with similar damage in Chicago years ago....It was a delayed ignition....like 3 minutes. I did not know then that three minutes worth of gas at 75 inches of pressure could do that much damage.

Bad day.

Boilers don’t explode from delayed ignition, the most that will happen is that the flue pipe will get blown off the vessel and a loud rumble will be heard.

Gas in a boiler gets vented out through the flue by draft or combustion fan. Not enough pressure could be built inside a vessel to cause it to rupture.

.





Oh yes they do. the stack can only relieve so much pressure.

I have seen the doors blown off. Tube sheets loosen where the tubes had to be rerolled. Saw one water tube boiler have every brick blown out of it.

[freerider]

The A team would not be on watch at the middle of the night. [/B]
Wrong. Quite often the best people are on at night. It's about the only time you can get anything done. Not to mention the lack of politics on nights. Whenever we get a new guy, we let him be boss. It makes him feel important.

[freerider]

I'm guessing low water meltdown.

[snipe70e]

Originally posted by freerider



The A team would not be on watch at the middle of the night.
Wrong. Quite often the best people are on at night. It's about the only time you can get anything done. Not to mention the lack of politics on nights. Whenever we get a new guy, we let him be boss. It makes him feel important. [/B]

Freerider,
You are right. What I ment by the A team not being on at night is probably no team, just one man or no one.

[JW32]

I helped replace one like this with similar damage in Chicago years ago....It was a delayed ignition....like 3 minutes. I did not know then that three minutes worth of gas at 75 inches of pressure could do that much damage. The boiler, another CB, had so much damage to the vessel itself, it had to be scraped. They never could place blame on the maint. staff, as they were all killed in the blast.

Bad day.


Yeah ok, I suppose the flame control thought there was flame right

[DPSwitch]

dude.........this thread is about 2 years old.

[JW32]

Oops, guess I'm right on top of things :) Have a good weekend

[DPSwitch]

Its ok......... we need to be reminded of these every so often